Monday, July 19, 2010

Match Making!

Mexican gary wolf M740The Mexican Gray Wolf Species Survival Plan Annual Meeting came to an end over the weekend and we now have some excellent news to report! One of the chief items on the meeting’s agenda is the determination of wolf breeding pairs. During the meeting, the management group establishes which wolves should be bred each year by using software developed for the population management of endangered species. In 2011, there could be a potential “puppy boom” with 8 breeding pairs in the program! The Wolf Conservation Center is honored to house one of the chosen pairs, Mexican wolves F810 & M740. F810 is the #1-ranked Mexican gray wolf female in the U.S.! Both wolves are genetically valuable individuals and they have been given the opportunity to breed because their offspring will increase the genetic diversity of their rare species and enhance that species’ chance to survive and thrive in the wild. F810 has called the WCC home since 2004 and this fall will mark M740’s one-year anniversary since his arrival from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, IL. This winter will mark their second opportunity to breed.

2 comments:

Jean Ossorio
said...

I'm delighted to hear that the SSP will likely greatly increase the number of breeding pairs in the captive population next year. After a month of uniformly awful news from the wild population, in the form of shooting deaths and disappearances, it's good to hear something positive.

We'll be needing additional release candidates to help stop the decline of the wild population, in addition to growth of the captive population for genetic reasons. Thanks, SSP!

Just I enjoyed the new video "Growing up!". The legs become longer and longer ...

It's by accident that only the public pair has build a litter? I heard the radio-talk at WVOX via internet and hope that on the meeting the MWSSP commission has adapted the rule of least contacts of men with wolves for the wild. Wolves know the meaning of fences and understand they as safe borders of their territory. Thus they must not flee if someone stands on the other side. On the contrary if you are too near on the fence (on a door in the fence ?) some wolves will you warn with woofs that's their territory .But if you go into the enclosure they will be excited and flee into the other half of the enclosure even if it's the same person everyday. I saw such at Washington (?) Zoo as a girl came in for collecting the excrements. Maybe the behavior is a little bit different if the girl brings the food. They are not so excited. Indeed feces have a sign function, but urine is more important, thus removing of feces is not so serious, even if they consider it as part of their own. The Mexican Wolves from Washington Zoo for example could be prepared for release into the wild successfully, I would say, and at WCC the only ones men-accustomed wolves are the three Ambassadors.

Share

About Us

Located in South Salem, NY, the Wolf Conservation Center (www.nywolf.org) exists to educate people about wolves and their valuable role in the environment, and to help protect their future in the wild. The WCC is home to ambassador wolves that visitors can observe in spacious natural enclosures. We also have over 20 wolves as part of our participation in Species Survival Plans for critically endangered Mexican Gray Wolves and Red Wolves. To learn more about us or to arrange a visit, please go to our website and follow us on Facebook. Questions about the blog? Email us at nywolf.org@gmail.com